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The National Gallery of Art Collection

Masters of Illusion (#138)

Examines artistic and scientific discoveries of the Renaissance, offering insights into a remarkable visual revolution. While Columbus and Copernicus were changing our understanding of the world, Renaissance artists were dramatically changing the way we view it. This program focuses on the discovery of perspective and the development of the visual techniques that create illusions of space.
[29 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.

Series Description: If you can't take your students to the NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington D.C., IPTV will bring it to you. Meet national standards in the visual arts for K-12 students, with a wide variety of artists, subjects, techniques and styles.

In this program, a young girl strolls through Picasso's Saltimbanques exhibition. As she gazes at the jugglers, bareback riders, harlequins, and clowns, the images before her give way to scenes of a Parisian circus. [6 minutes]

This program recounts the story of Moran's involvement with the government-sponsored survey expedition to Yellowstone in 1871 and illustrates the pivotal role that his paintings played in securing passage of the first national park bill.
[11 minutes]

Discover the genius and accomplishments of the Renaissance artist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci. His best-known paintings are shown, including the Mona Lisa and the National Gallery's Ginevra de' Benci. Notebooks of his drawings are examined. [57 minutes]

Thomas Jefferson was a man of remarkable achievements. A survey of Jefferson's artistic interests and creative accomplishments, tracing his journeys through Europe, where he found inspiration for many of his ideas on architecture and landscaping. [27 minutes]

Filmed on location in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands, the program explores Gauguin's obsessive search for an alternative to his own culture, culminating with his artistic achievements in the South Pacific. To a great extent, the story is told in Gauguin's words, revealing his personal philosophy of art and of life.
[44 minutes]

This short program illustrates highlights of the East Building's conception and construction, beginning with the challenge initially faced by architect I. M. Pei. Documentation of the phases of construction includes footage of the works of art commissioned for the building from artists such as Henry Moore and Alexander Calder.
[12 minutes]

One of the works commissioned for the National Gallery of Art, Joan Miró tapestry Femme was made in Tarragona, Spain. Footage of the weaving process on a special oversized loom will be of particular interest to students of textiles.
[15 minutes]

The first work of art placed in the National Gallery's East Building, this mobile is also one of the last major pieces by one of America's great artists, Alexander Calder, the man who invented this form of art. [24 minutes]

Notable for their poetic light and dramatic color, luminist landscapes are fascinating in their own right and as reflections of American attitudes in a crucial period in the nation's history. [32 minutes]

Itinerant performers, or saltimbanques, are the subject of many of Picasso's works, particularly those of the Rose period. This program traces the process through which curators and conservators discovered earlier compositions--thought to have been lost--beneath the surface of Picasso's painting, Family of Saltimbanques. [28 minutes]

David Smith was one of America's most important sculptors of the twentieth century. Smith's ideas about art and his methods are revealed in archival footage of the artist, through reminiscences of the sculptor by his daughters, and by fellow artists Helen Frankenthaler and the late Robert Motherwell. The film also takes the viewer to Bolton Landing in upstate New York where Smith had his studio. [28 minutes]

Explores Peto's art in the context of his native Philadelphia and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he trained. Live footage shows the artist's home and studio in Island Heights, New Jersey. Peto's studio is much the same today as during the artist's life; it expresses the artist's temperament in its design and in his collections of objects--the very forms found in his paintings. [27 minutes]

The work of the Renaissance master Raphael was much admired as a model of perfection in his own time and in succeeding centuries. Raphael's art is surveyed briefly as a background for understanding the quest for the artist's paintings in the early twentieth century by American collectors. The pictures they purchased are now seen in American museums, particularly the National Gallery, whose holdings include five paintings by Raphael—among them Saint George and the Dragon and the Alba Madonna. [18 minutes]

This program covers Homer's art from his early illustrations of the Civil War, his picturesque scenes in the country and at the shore, to the powerful images of nature that characterize his later work. [29 minutes]

The nineteenth-century painter James McNeill Whistler worked extensively in the etching medium. This program shows the changes in Whistler's art and in his etching style over the years, focusing on the effects he achieved by experimenting with inking and printing techniques.
[21 minutes]

Highlights Chase's years at Shinnecock, on Long Island, New York, where in 1891 the artist established the first important outdoor summer school of art in America. Images of Chase's paintings and archival photographs--many of the artist's studios--are interwoven with footage of the hills and beaches at Shinnecock and of Chase's house and studio as they are today. [25 minutes]

From the 1850s to the 1870s, Frederic Edwin Church was the leading landscape painter in America. This program traces his career from his early studies through the years when his depictions of the natural wonders of the Americas made him the nation's most celebrated landscape painter. [28 minutes]

This program provides an in-depth look at the history and origins of the Gallery's West Building. It focuses on Pope's architectural career and includes archival construction photographs and original drawings of the National Gallery of Art.
[18 minutes]

The painter and printmaker was one of the most controversial and fascinating personalities of the nineteenth century. This program follows his life and career in America, London, Paris, and Venice. [19 minutes]

Olmec objects were created in Mexico and Central America 3,000 years ago, long before the great Maya, Teotihuacan, and Aztec civilizations. This program focuses on the twentieth-century discovery of powerful and dynamic Olmec art.
[22 minutes]

The dual way of the Daimyo culture of feudal Japan combined the art of war and the art of the pen. This program examines the paradox of the warrior/aesthete through a survey of Daimyo arts: architecture, landscape gardening, poetry, calligraphy, painting, the tea ceremony, the No theater, and Kendo, or swordsmanship. [27 minutes]

The "Feast of the Gods" was painted in 1514 by Giovanni Bellini, one of the masters of the Italian Renaissance. But the picture was drastically altered and repainted by another great artist, Titian. Filmed on location in Italy, this program probes the past and uses technology to reveal the underlying structure of the painting. [27 minutes]

Weaving together old Javanese poetry, sculpture, stunning landscapes, music, and performances by traditional artists, this program, shot on location in Java and Bali, introduces viewers to the myths and symbols that have permeated Indonesian culture for more than a thousand years. [27 minutes]

Examines artistic and scientific discoveries of the Renaissance, offering insights into a remarkable visual revolution. While Columbus and Copernicus were changing our understanding of the world, Renaissance artists were dramatically changing the way we view it. This program focuses on the discovery of perspective and the development of the visual techniques that create illusions of space.
[29 minutes]

Renowned pop artist Roy Lichtenstein discusses his printmaking career over the course of two decades. This is an intimate glimpse of the artist at work, both in his own studios and at two of the most innovative printmaking workshops in the United States--Gemini G.E.L., California, and Tyler Graphics Ltd., New York.
[19 minutes]

Henry Moore's long journey from a 19th-century coal-mining town in the north of England to the center stage of the 20th-century art world was driven by talent, vision, and ambition. He fused ideas from non-European cultures, surrealism, and nature into a unique sculptural language that made its way into galleries and private collections around the world. This program traces Moore's career by including footage of the artist at work, views of his sculptures and drawings, and interviews with critics, curators, and colleagues Anthony Caro and Bruce Nauman. [25 minutes]

Focusing on works by Titian, Turner, Monet, and Matisse, this film asks 'what is color?' and turns for answers to artists, curators, conservation scientists, and science students. Filmed in studios, laboratories, and museum galleries, Seeing Color looks at its subject as both an aesthetic and physical phenomenon. [26 minutes]

Introduces the concepts of art and science in museum conservation. Takes viewers behind the scenes to a conservation lab and discusses conservation issues related to art objects. Discussion is focused on the effects of light on works of paper, environmental conditions on outdoor sculpture, and the use of varnish on oil painting. [19 minutes]

This film chronicles funeral practices of the New Kingdom (1550-1069 B.C.E.) through the Late Period (664-322 B.C.E.), from mummification and burial into the afterworld. This documentary includes original footage of Egyptian tombs and temples, as well as sumptuous photographs detailing gilded coffins, painted sarcophagi, jewelry, and other funerary objects. The program includes interviews with leading Egyptologists from the United States, Egypt, and Europe, who helped unravel the complexities of ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife. [27 minutes]

This program includes footage of the pyramids at Cairo and tombs in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, as well as objects selected from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Luxor Museum, and the sites of Tanis and Deir el-Bahari [12 minutes]

Along with fellow postimpressionists, Vuillard helped change the course of French painting. This program chronicles his entire career, including his early designs for avant-garde theater, evocative interior scenes, and rarely seen photographs. [30 minutes]

Romare Bearden lived in Pittsburgh, Harlem, and, later in his life, on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. These locales and memories of their people, music, colors, and stories form the basis of Bearden's collages and paintings. [33 minutes]

A thirty-minute documentary film presents the culture and society that created the most advanced civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. Filmed in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, the program focuses on the courts of the Maya kingdoms of Palenque, Tonina and Bonampak. [27 minutes]

Vermeer's use of light and color, proportion and scale are mesmerizing. This film explores Vermeer's paintings by examining the secrets of his technique through x-ray analysis, infrared reflectography, and computer technology. [56 minutes]

Ginevra de Benci, the first known portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, is both haunting and hypnotic. The magnificent work conceals a multitude of secrets. Using technology, this program unveils insights about the painting and about Ginevra and Leonardo. [55 minutes]

Rousseau is best known for his jungle landscapes that depict a seductive and terrifying world. The program considers them in the context of France's fascination with the exotic during the nation's colonial expansion in the late nineteenth century. [37 minutes]

Edward Hopper, one of America's most-admired artists, captured the shared realities of American life with poignancy and enigmatic beauty. His iconic images, set in unexceptional places, reveal the poetry of quiet, private moments. Hopper's influences, which vary from French impressionism to the gangster films of the 1930s, are explored through archival photos and footage of locations he painted in New York and along the New England coast. [28 minutes]

One of the greatest landscape painters of all time, Joseph Mallord William Turner rendered the subtle effects of light and atmosphere in revolutionary ways. A barber's son, he entered the Royal Academy art school at age fourteen and became, over the course of six decades, the leading British artist of his time. This overview of Turner's career and influences includes footage of locations important to him in Wales, England, and Switzerland, and readings from writers and artists of the era, including John Ruskin and Lord Byron. [32 minutes]

This program explores art and culture around the Bay of Naples before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The bay was a favorite resort for vacationing Romans. Julius Caesar, emperors, and senators were among those who owned sumptuous villas along its shores. Artists created frescoes, sculpture, and luxurious objects in gold, silver, and glass for villa owners as well as residents of Pompeii and other towns in the shadow of Vesuvius. [28 minutes]

Art Nouveau was one of the most innovative and exuberant of early modern art movements. This film explores the development of Art Nouveau in Europe and North America, focusing on individual works of art and architectural landmarks.
[32 minutes]

This film offers a brief art-historical overview and an introduction to the Gallery's treasure of European art—paintings, sculpture, and works on paper—from the twelfth to the twentieth century. [29 minutes]

De Kooning's life and work—from his origins in the Netherlands to his mature Long Island period—are presented through his paintings, vintage photographs of the artist and his contemporaries, and footage of his studio on Long Island. This film also explores the historical and cultural developments in the postwar period that shaped his art. [12 minutes]